No slumdogs, only millionaires: A look into the communication strategy of KBC

9 ho gaye kya? It’s hard to be- lieve KBC (Kaun Banega Crorepati) – the flagship quiz show on Indian television with many firsts to its credit, is now in its 9th season. The core insight of the brand through its seven year stint at Sony Entertainment Television, has remained unchanged: ‘Knowledge is a great leveller’ saysDanish Khan, EVP and business head, Sony Entertainment Television (SET). But the distinct shift in this year’s campaign is a sense of ‘now or never’ in appreciation of the present youth’s need-for-action temper- ament, he adds.

Remember the last KBC edition was in 2014 and that, in this day and age, could well be the quarter of a generation’s evolution. The campaign is pegged around the thought ‘Jawab Dene Ka Waqt Aa Gaya Hai’ with various slice of life vignettes. It builds on the premise established over the past few seasons: of the common-man and under-dog triumphing against odds, much like the Manmohan Desai blockbusters of the 70s and 80s, many of which starred the man who hosts KBC — Amitabh Bachchan.

Are the audience likely to be getting a little tired of these stories? Khan disagrees: “Inspiration comes from the underdog shows and this is not just an Indian phenomenon but a global fact.” What big news would it make if a guy already a millionaire, becomes a billionaire, he points out. The Indian adaption of the UK game show ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ had an interesting be- ginning since its launch in 2000, earning stripes as the first ever show of its kind. The first three seasons aired on Star Plus, post which it was acquired and telecast on Sony TV in 2010, from season- 4 onwards.

Recalls Yash Khanna, a former senior resource at Star India and now an independent consultant, “The KBC franchise made its debut with a big-bang multi- city launch, to coincide exactly with the channel’s full-fledged foray into Hindi programming.” It meant a lot for the channel at that time, he adds. The move from Sony to Star also brought about a change in the KBC’s overall positioning: from being exclusive to a much-more inclusive stance, as established by the campaigns.

As per KV Sridhar (Pops), founder & CCO, Hyper Collective, “In the earlier days of the show, viewers as well as those participating were mostly white-collar workers, and along the way it was re- alised that the connect with the large part of India was missing.” It was decided to shift the positioning from the ‘greed of money’ to the ‘need of money’, and thus the television game-show brand has evolved along the years to its current day positioning - ‘Jawab Dene Ka Waqt Aa Gaya Hai’.

Today’s audience expect it to be faster, more cerebral, transparent and technologically savvy, admits Khan. Some of these changes include, the very popular ‘phone-a-friend’ lifeline that has been revamped to ‘video-a- friend’, thereby enabling contestants to video-call their buddies for an answer. Not just the format but even the media-plan this season comprises TV and digital only, with print, radio and OOH being eased out, as per Khan. The other big change has been the creative partnership.

This is the first season, when the brand campaign is being done without a creative agency at the helm. (Sony Entertainment was a longtime client of Leo Burnett, but in April this year DDB Mudra was got on- board.) The entire campaign has been conceptualised, directed and writ- ten by filmmaker and ad-man Nitish Tiwari along with Nikhil Mehrotra, both ex-Leo Burnett. Tiwari has been associated with the show since 2010 while working at Leo Burnett and was the obvious choice, says Khan. “For KBC, we wanted him to continue as he understands the brand well, is adept at selling the big philosophy in a simple story with the right mix of humour and entertainment.” Views Tiwari, “The KBC campaigns have been kept socially relevant signifying the triumph of the common-man and on par with the current times.” The overall marketing budget is pegged at around `15 crore – `20 crores, as per market sources. The biggest challenge is obvious: keeping the brand resonant and relevant to an audience that is changing super-fast.

While KBC as a brand is all about the victory of the commoner and the dreamer, says Ashish Khazanchi, managing partner, Enormous, a decade is a long time indeed for any single narrative to sustain the same level of intensity. And that is a broad- cast category challenge – as seen in formats of sports as well as some other formats of reality TV.

However, points out Madhukar Sabnavis, vice chair- man and country head, discovery and planning, O&M India, “Unlike dance shows and music shows, this remains unique in its format across channels and Amitabh keeps it charming.” He surmises it’s like a Federer-Nadal final, impervious to viewer fatigue. Prateek Doshi (26), a diehard KBC viewer and Mumbai-based founder of umbrella-brand Cheeky Chunk, agrees a lot has changed since 2014. For now, he is looking forward to the new season with a fresher set of questions and the comeback of Big B’s charisma on prime-time television. Will the format continue to deliver is of course, a question that’s answer is worth a lot more than just `1 crore.